Senator Shaheen on Rwanda-Congo Clashes and US Subsea Cable Strategy

Escalation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

• ⚠️ Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized a key town in eastern DRC, marking a major escalation of violence.
• 💔 This clashes occurred just days after President Trump hosted Rwandan and Congolese presidents to promote a peace and prosperity plan.
• 🤥 Reports suggest the Rwandan government may not have upheld promises made during the peace signing, leading to renewed conflict and refugee flows.
• ⚖️ Senator Shaheen emphasizes the US commitment to taking necessary steps if parties fail to uphold their commitments, encouraging the administration to do the same.

US Support for Somalia

• 🤝 The importance of US support for the Somali government and people is reiterated, especially for countering piracy and strengthening coastal security.
• 🗣️ Policy should be based on facts and strong alliances, not on comments that undermine critical communities.

Subsea Cable Strategy and Competition

• 🌐 Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to ensure a whole-of-government strategy for subsea cables, focusing on State Department expertise.
• 🇺🇸 New Hampshire is home to SubCom, a major developer of undersea cables, highlighting the need for US companies to compete against PRC firms.
• 🛡️ The State Department is working to ensure countries choose trusted vendors over Chinese alternatives, citing a successful program in the East Asia Pacific Bureau that reduced HMN Tech's market share.
• 🔒 The Cyberspace and Digital Policy Bureau is expanding an educational program globally to highlight data security risks associated with untrusted subsea cable vendors.
• 🔗 Diplomacy is ongoing to encourage partners to adopt the New York Principles, focusing on building a resilient system to mitigate catastrophic impacts from cable damage.
• 🌍 Concerns exist about potential interference with subsea cable maintenance and repair, similar to incidents in the South China Sea, if Chinese influence spreads to regions like Africa or the Gulf of Guinea.
• 🇫🇮 Finland's efforts to address Russian interference with subsea cables are applauded, encouraging similar actions from other countries.